David Ward defends his position as attorney general during an interview on Jan. 29. in the SGA Senate chambers. / Nick Staab/FSView

Written by

K. Maxwell Greenwood

Senior Staff Writer

During a brief meeting Tuesday, the Florida State University Student Government Internal Affairs Committee voted to dismiss SGA Attorney General Nominee David Ward amid concerns about Ward’s past affiliation with the University’s Ignite Party.

The vote came after the committee conducted an interview with Ward, a former president of the Florida State Interfraternity Council and a first-year law school student at the University. The committee members cited that they felt the nominee was too closely affiliated with Ignite as the reason for the discharge.

“It’s an ethical decision, and if there’s a video circulating of David Ward openly supporting Ignite, then I don’t think it would be a good idea to put him in this position,” Committee Member Harold Scott said, referencing an online video in which Ward endorsed the SGA political party.

The video was a point of discussion at the meeting, with most committee members saying the video examples a possible partisan leaning for Ward.

But Ward said the video of his endorsement of Ignite was taken during his undergraduate career at FSU and was no longer relevant. He said he no longer identifies with any particular SGA political organization.

“I feel really confident in my ability to stay unbiased judicially and to remove myself from any partisanship,” Ward told the committee. “I’m in law school, and with all due respect to the process, I don’t really care about political parties anymore.”

Still, the committee members voted to dismiss Ward, asserting that an Attorney General nominee should be politically unbiased, a criterion the committee members said they felt Ward did not meet.

In the same meeting, the SGA committee voted to approve Deputy Secretary of Campus Affairs Nominee Rachel Houston in a unanimous decision.

“She has experience as far as being organized and leading a group of people,” Internal Affairs Committee Chairman Colvin Georges said of Houston. “There’s no doubt in my mind she’ll do a good job.”